Page 18 – Lovely County Citizen – January 16, 2014
Village View
Alison By Sandra TaylorSynar Brown
New Project to FEATURE Local Businesses
Feature: a distinctive attribute or aspect of something. Feature: A newspaper or magazine article or a broadcast program devoted to the treatment of a topic. ow that the holiday stories are finNow what did I say when we moved into ished, we’re hearing many com- our building and equipped it? Anyone, anyments from the writers like: That where, can teach us anything about writing. was great. It was fun to take a break from So we will “beam” Rebecca in on February my booklength novel or memoir to focus on 6 to teach us feature writing. The $20 worksomething/someone else. It was fun to write shop will be from 3-5 pm and is open to a shorter piece and have the satisfaction of anyone interested in learning to write feature seeing it finished. stories. At the same time these discussions were THE VILLAGE PROJECT going on, I was thinking about the workThen, we need to practice. We had so shops we should offer in 2014 and consid- much fun interacting with the local comering what skills we need to be teaching to munities during the holiday stories that we help our students write better AND build now are going to use our new writing skill to their publishing resume. FEATURE local businesses. Some cool story Feature stories are everywhere because about the owners, their history, the business they are very popular with readers. itself, the customers, the building—whatevThe news feature, the profile, the review, er lends itself to an interesting story. Hopethe travel story, the evergreen are all types of fully, we can feature some small little niche features. Understanding how to put together shops that don’t get a lot of attention, as well these stories in the most professional and cre- as some of the not-so-glamorous-but-utterative way will give our writers another path ly-necessary businesses that keep our villagto publication beyond the magazines that es functioning. only publish fiction or creative nonfiction of If you are a business owner, a writer may a certain type. be contacting you. If you are interested in THE WORKSHOP having your business FEATURED in an inSince Rebecca Mahoney has published depth story by a Village Writer, let me know. numerous feature articles in the Boston We will not just write these stories but will Globe, the L.A. Times, the Orlando Sentinel, have a goal of sending them out to at least and many other newspapers, as well as Asso- five publication venues. If you want to learn ciated Press online, I wanted her to teach this to write a feature, sign up for the workshop. workshop. But she also teaches at two uniThe stories of local businesses and the versities in the northeast and couldn’t spare writers to write them. It takes a village to the time to come to Eureka Springs. raise a story. •••
N
Alison Taylor-Brown has an MFA in Fiction and a lifetime of teaching experience from preschool to university levels. She directs The Village Writing School, whose mission is to foster the development of area writers through workshops, writers’ circles, and coaching. Her column, Village View, appears weekly. To talk to Alison about your writing goals and dreams, contact her at alisontaylorbrown@me.com or 479 292-3665.
All Creative Writing Workshops at theVillage Writing School will be
FREE
to High School Students in 2014 Fantasy Stories Welcome!!
Everything You Need to Write a Beautiful Book 2014 Writing Craft Core Curriculum Sound Devices January 18 – The First Page/ The Sentence Character Figurative Language How to Begin Types of Phrases Asking the Right Questions Style What is Voice? March 1 or April 19 – Subtext, High Narrative Arc Events, Closing Writing Rules to Live By Below the Surface of Story, 13 ways to make Characters REAL Plot, Context Narrative Urgency Implicit Narrative February 1 or 15 – Dialogue and Weaving the Dramatic & the Subtle Setting What to Say Two Mistakes with High Events How to Say it Endings can Culminate or Imply Continuation Setting – More than a Place Setting – Friend or Foe? Ending Literal or From Afar? March 22, 2014 & May or June TBA The Four Elements to Research How to Research – Self-Editing February 6 - Feature Writing From First Draft to Finished Manuscript in 15 Steps Rebecca Mahoney 3-5 pm $20 Reviewing and Applying all February 22 or March 15 – The Word & the Sentence the Writer’s Tools Diction Unless otherwise noted, all workshops are 9-4 and are $45. Register online at VillageWritingSchool.com For more information, contact alisontaylorbrown@me.com or 479 292-3665. Follow Village Writing School on FB.